Wireless networks are telecommunications networks that use radio waves to carry information from one node in the network to one or more receiving nodes in the network. Cellular telephony is characterized by the use of radio cells that provide radio coverage for a geographic area, with multiple cells arranged to provide contiguous radio coverage over a larger area. Wired communication can also be used in portions of a wireless network, such as between cells or access points.
Wireless communication technologies are used in connection with many applications, including, for example, satellite communications systems, portable digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and mobile devices (e.g., cellular telephones, user equipment). Users of such applications can connect to a network (e.g., the Internet) as long as the user is within range of such a wireless communication technology. The range of the wireless communication technology can vary depending on the deployment. A macro cell transceiver is typically used by service providers to provide coverage over about a five kilometer distance. A pico cell transceiver can provide coverage over about a half kilometer distance, and a femto cell transceiver can provide coverage over a 50-200 meter distance. A femto cell transceiver is similar in coverage to a WiFi (WLAN) access point and can be used to provide network access over a short range.
Overview
Certain embodiments disclose a method including establishing a session on an offload gateway to communicate with a user equipment (UE), receiving a packet on an interface at the offload gateway with the session that is bound to or from the user equipment (UE), inspecting the packet to obtain information regarding the packet to make an offload determination, determining if the packet meets offload criteria by comparing information obtained from inspection with offload logic criteria, upon determining that the packet is offload eligible, modifying the packet at a network address translation functionality to route the packet onto an Internet to bypass a packet core network, and sending a non-offload eligible packet to a home gateway in the packet core network.